The search experience in SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web is being aligned with the Copilot Search experience across Microsoft 365. Soon, all users can search with natural-language prompts and get search results, AI-generated summaries with source references, and filters in one interface. Some AI-powered search capabilities are still restricted to Copilot Premium users.
Timeline
- Users in Frontier release mode: The rollout should be completed by January 2027.
- Users in Standard release mode: The rollout is scheduled between January 2027 and April 2027.
How does this affect your users?
All users who search for content in SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web will get Copilot Search.
Currently, SharePoint and OneDrive still use Microsoft Search (also for Copilot Premium users), which is keyword-based and has no semantic search.
Copilot Search adds natural-language queries, AI-generated summaries with source references, and filters on a shared search interface. Users get the same experience in SharePoint and OneDrive, regardless of where they start.
The core search experience is shared, but AI-powered capabilities such as summaries with source references depend on licensing. Users without the required license may therefore see a reduced feature set.
- During the Frontier period, SharePoint and OneDrive on the web provide an opt-out option, which users can use if a critical search feature they rely on is unavailable.
- Admins should also be able to defer the new experience at the tenant and individual site level (details are still pending). This should give organizations time to adapt customizations built for Microsoft Search. Organizations that use custom search experiences or integrations should already prepare for the upcoming switch.
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